One aspect of providing assistance to frail or physically handicapped individuals in various institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, is equipping the corridors and other spaces frequented by those individuals with handrails. The handrails are often integrated with bumper rails, inasmuch as the types of spaces in which handrails are installed commonly have a variety of food service and equipment carts, wheelchairs, litters and the like moving about the space. Bumper rails protect the walls from being marred or damaged due to impacts by moving equipment.
The assignee of the present invention and several other manufacturers of wall protection products have recently introduced ergonomic handrail/bumpers that consist of extruded aluminum retainers and cover members extruded from impact-resistant polymeric materials, such PVC, that are mounted on the retainers and provide attractive, durable surfaces. The handgrip portions are of circular cross-section, with a diameter of about 1.5 inch, which has been generally accepted to be the optimum size for enabling most frail or disabled people to get a good grip on the rail. Various building standards and codes have also established strength requirements for handrails, which presently available handrail/bumpers based on metal retainers and PVC-based covers usually meet. Examples of such handrail/bumpers are described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,643 (Shreiner, Nov. 24, 1992) and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/855,905 (Shreiner, Mar. 23, 1992).
Wood has long been a favored material for use in such building products as trim, paneling, railings, and moldings. Wood has come to represent, perhaps inherently or perhaps by custom, high quality and richness. Plastics and metals, on the other hand, with the possible exception of such costly metals as brass and bronze, are perceived by some people as being less rich and handsome in appearance than wood. Even plastics that are given a leatherette or wood grain appearance simply do not have the richness and aesthetic appeal of natural wood.
In addition to its good appearance, natural wood has the advantages of being a renewable resource and of being capable of being disposed of without damage to the environment. Plastics and metals, on the other hand, are not renewable resources, are costly to recycle and are not as readily disposed of as wood is. Wood is relatively easy to work and is relatively energy-efficient in terms of bringing it from the forest to the place of use.
As a material for wall railings and bumpers subject to impacts, natural wood is a poor choice. It is prone to denting and abrasion from impact, which ruins the appearance, frequently raises splinters and, when the damage is severe, presents a hazard to persons who touch the damaged areas. Wood also splits or splinters along edges under impacts near the edges. After repeated impacts, fasteners used to attach wood rails and bumpers to supports can loosen and fail, thereby allowing the rail or bumper to become dislodged from sound support.
Another material used in buildings is stone. Natural stone is not particularly well suited for handrails and bumpers because of its relatively low tensile strength, the difficulty of working it, and high cost in finished form. Artificial stone, on the other hand, can be molded to a desired shape and offers an opportunity to architects and designers to create wall protection products having a unique and rich appearance. Artificial stone materials are highly durable, and scratches can be polished away quite easily. Artificial stone, as used herein, refers to materials composed of powdered mineral fillers bound by a polymeric binder, such as a binder based on acrylic and carbonate monomers.